Gem Hunt
by TurquoisePearl
Summary: Steven gets injured when he goes on a mission with Pearl and Connie to hunt down a corrupted gem. This short fanfiction is a tweak on season 3 episode 17 gem hunt.


Steven, Connie, and Pearl stood on a hill, scanning the snowy trees. Light snowflakes drifted from the sky. Steven and Connie shivered in their jackets.

"Now remember, you two. When you find the monster, call me. It's very powerful." Pearl took out her walkie talkie and adjusted the volume. "It escaped the last two times I came. But we can corner it if we work together."

"Okay." Steven pocketed his own walkie talkie and tried to calm his nerves. He had a bad feeling about this. He hadn't been on enough missions to feel comfortable yet with fighting corrupted gems.

Pearl took off one direction, and Steven and Connie took the other.

After a few minutes of walking on the powdery snow, Steven spoke up.

"Hey, Connie?"

"Yeah?"

Steven fiddled with his gloves. "I'm… kind of scared. What if something goes wrong?"

Connie paused and gently put her hand on his shoulder. "Steven, it's okay." She smiled reassuringly. "This will work out."

Steven blushed a little and took a deep breath. "Okay. You're right. Thanks, Connie."

Connie patted him encouragingly. "Now let's go find that monster."

They walked past several more snow-covered trees when they heard a growl. They paused.

"Did you hear that?" Connie looked around, placing her hand on the handle of the sword strapped to her back.

"Yeah." Steven summoned his shield.

They stood back to back, listening as the growls crept closer. Then silence.

A bead of sweat trickled down Steven's temple. The tension was palpable.

Connie gasped. "Look out!" She tackled Steven to the side. There was a big stomp, and snow exploded from the ground, blanketing them.

Steven rolled over, and when he looked up, he saw the corrupted gem towering over them. It had thick purple fur, four legs, and a crown of golden horns on its head. Its paw was where they were standing a second ago. If it weren't for Connie, they would have been smashed flat.

"Steven, quick! Call Pearl!" Connie yelled as she drew her sword.

"Right!" Steven dug in his pockets, but to his horror, the walkie talkie wasn't there. _Where is it?_ he thought frantically.

The gem monster roared defiantly as Connie swung her sword. The monster's claws swiped at her, but she dodged.

Then Steven saw the remains of the walkie talkie in the spot where they had been standing. The monster's paw had crushed it to pieces. Steven's heart thudded.

"Steven! Is Pearl coming?" Connie jumped back.

"No! The walkie talkie was smashed!" Steven wailed.

"What?!" Connie cried.

Using the distraction, the monster swung its paw toward her.

"Watch out!" Steven shouted.

Connie cried out in pain as the paw struck her and sent her flying against a tree. She crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

"No!" Steven threw his shield, and it struck the monster on the head.

Enraged, the monster turned toward him. At least its attention wasn't on Connie anymore. But now Steven had to face it alone.

Steven clenched his fists. He had to protect Connie until Pearl realized she couldn't communicate with them.

With a roar, the monster charged at him. At the last second, Steven dodged to the side and got back up with a roll. Unfortunately, the monster was already turning to face him again.

Before Steven could get out of the way, the monster's paw struck him in the chest. Steven cried out as he tumbled across the snow. Breathing heavily, he struggled back to his feet.

The monster sprang toward him and raised its paws to smash him flat. Steven quickly raised his hands and summoned a semi-spherical bubble around him. The paw made impact with the bubble, and Steven gritted his teeth. The monster's strike was very powerful. It took all he had to maintain his force field.

The monster shrieked, raised its paw, and struck down again, this time with more power. Steven cried out and fell to one knee but somehow managed to keep his hands up.

Roaring in rage, the monster proceeded to strike the bubble over and over again.

Steven tightened his muscles, keeping his bubble up. Sweat trickled down his temples. The effort was draining him. Soon, a crack formed on the bubble.

The monster smacked his paw on the crack and began pushing down.

Steven groaned in pain as the crack spider-webbed across the bubble. The monster pushed harder and harder until the effort was too much, and the bubble shattered. A sharp pain burst in Steven's chest and he cried out. The monster's paw slammed down on top of Steven, his breath stolen. Claws wrapped around him, and the monster swung its front leg and threw him.

Steven flew across the snow field and crashed into a tree. There was a crack, and Steven gasped as pain flooded his chest. He crumpled to the ground, struggling to breathe through the pain. Tears formed at the corners of his eyes. His head swam, and his vision blotted with dark spots.

Groaning, Steven lifted his hand to lick it. His spit would mend his broken rib. Before he could heal himself, the monster struck him.

Steven cried out, tumbling across the snow. The movement send more flares of pain in his chest. He tried to get up, then yelped. Any small movements made his chest hurt even more. The paw struck him again, and he fell at the base of a tree. The cold from the snow seeped into his face, now streaked with tears. He gritted his teeth, trying to keep from passing out.

The monster raised his paw to strike again, and Steven squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for another painful impact.

"Hey!"

Suddenly a snowball struck the monster on the head. The monster turned around furiously.

"Over here!" Connie yelled, waving her sword.

The monster roared and charged at Connie. Her sword training skills kicked in, and she dodged to the side, quickly following up with a swing of her sword. The monster screamed as the sword dug a gash on its side. It swung its claws toward Connie, and she managed to leap back just in time.

"No,..." Steven groaned. Connie was in danger. He clenched his fist, determined to try getting up again, but then the monster shrieked in pain.

"Steven! Connie!"

_Pearl_, Steven thought, recognizing the voice. He slowly looked up and saw that Pearl had joined the fight, and she was throwing spears at the monster. The monster screamed each time a spear embedded itself in its fur. It swiped at Pearl, but she swiftly dodged the attack.

"Pearl!" Connie exclaimed in relief. "You made it!"

Pearl shot out beams of light from her spear, and the monster roared angrily.

"I'll distract it, you strike from behind!" Pearl cried to Connie.

"Yes, ma'am!"

Pearl ran up to the monster and shot more beams of light from her spear. The annoyed monster stomped toward her, rearing up to flatten her with both paws.

Just then, the tip of a blade sprouted from the monster's chest. The monster gave a final shriek before poofing, an indigo gem thunking to the snow.

"Well done, Connie!" Pearl quickly bubbled the gem, sent it off, then turned around to see Steven still lying on the snow, not moving.

"Steven!" Pearl ran over, followed by Connie.

Steven's vision swam as the pain began to overwhelm him. Tears flowed down his cheeks.

Pearl knelt next to him, on the verge of tears herself. The sight of him injured made her heartbroken. She gently put her hand under Steven's neck and slowly propped him up.

Steven gasped. The small movement send flares of pain in his chest.

"Oh no. I'm so sorry, Steven. I couldn't reach you through the walkie talkie… Steven? Steven!" Pearl frantically yelled. Steven's eyes were slowly closing.

"Steven, stay with us!" Connie cried.

"We have to head back _now_," Pearl said.

Steven's eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he blacked out.

Darkness surrounded him. He flexed his fingers. It felt so real, but he knew he was still unconscious somewhere in the real world.

_This must be some sort of dream_, Steven thought.

"Rose…"

Steven yelled out in alarm; he recognized the voice. "Jasper!" He looked around and noticed a spot of orange light coming closer to him. The light formed into the shape of a quartz soldier. Then the light died, and there stood Jasper, glaring with hateful eyes.

"You survived." Jasper shook her head disappointedly.

"W-What's going on?" Steven began shaking in fear.

"This isn't over, Rose. That monster was only a small part of what I have at hand." Jasper smiled mischievously. "You won't get away again."

"I'm not Rose, I'm Steven," Steven insisted.

Jasper kept talking as if she couldn't hear him. "You can't hide with that ridiculous disguise. I'll get you next time for sure." Then Jasper glowered. "In fact, I wish I could just get you right now!"

She charged at him, bellowing at the top of her lungs, her eyes crazy with the intent of murder.

Steven gasped and woke up in a sweat. He tried sitting up, but a sharp stab of pain made him choke. He cradled his side, where his rib was still broken.

"Steven!"

He turned his head and saw Connie with worry in her eyes. Pearl was at her side, a concerned look on her face.

"Are you okay?" Connie asked, troubled.

Steven slowly looked around. He was back home on his bed.

"Y-Yeah," Steven stammered. The dream had unsettled him. Jasper was still out there, intent on killing him.

"Any injuries?" Pearl asked.

The sharp pain in his side reminded him of his fight with the gem monster. He shook in fear from the memory of it. "I can take care of it." He licked his hand and tucked it under his shirt. Steven applied the saliva on the bruise. With a sparkle, the spit worked its magic and the pain faded.

Steven sighed in relief. "That's better." His body was still sore, but now that he no longer had a broken bone in his chest, he could breathe.

"I had a dream about Jasper," he said.

"What?!" Pearl's eyes widened.

"Who?" Connie asked.

"Jasper's a Homeworld gem. I think she released that gem monster on purpose to kill me. She still thinks I'm my mom," Steven explained.

Pearl was silent for a few seconds, then she sat down on the bed and placed her hand on his shoulder. "We'll protect you, Steven."

"That's right," Connie agreed. "The reason I started sword training in the first place was to help protect you."

Steven sniffled, thankful for the reassurance.

"We'll protect each other," he promised.


End file.
